KUALA LUMPUR — The ringgit strengthened against the US dollar at the opening today as the greenback weakened after the US government upheld its decision to impose import tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, an analyst said.
At 8 am, the ringgit rose to 4.4465/4585 against the greenback from 4.4635/4680 at Tuesday’s close.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US Dollar Index (DXY) fell to 105.57, down more than 1%.
“Concerns over higher tariffs could slow the economy and prompt the Federal Reserve to adopt a more dovish stance on monetary policy,” he told Bernama.
He said traders were also factoring in three rate cuts this year.
“Developments over tariffs will be high on the agenda in the near term, as the situation remains fluid, creating trading opportunities,” he said.
However, he opined that the ringgit would continue to trade cautiously, with USD/MYR oscillating around RM4.45 to RM4.47.
Trump on Monday confirmed the go-ahead with US tariffs of 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada starting Tuesday, swiftly pushing the US stock market down 2% in Monday afternoon trading.
The US president also doubled tariffs on China to 20%, drawing immediate relation from Beijing which announced additional tariffs of 10% to 15% on US imports – including US agricultural produce such as chicken, wheat, corn and cotton.
China has also filed another complaint with the World Trade Organisation over raised US tariffs.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.9675/9759 from 2.9956/9989 at Tuesday’s close but weakened against the British pound to 5.6884/7038 from 5.6789/6846 and fell against the euro to 4.7231/7358 from 4.6916/6963 yesterday.
The local currency was mixed against ASEAN currencies.
It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.3227/3322 from 3.3203/3242 on Tuesday and slipped against the Thai baht to 13.1963/2453 from 13.1853/2057.
By contrast, it strengthened against the Indonesian rupiah to 270.3/271.2 from 271.3/271.8 and rose against the Philippine peso to 7.72/7.74 from 7.69/7.72 yesterday. – March 5, 2025